Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eARENACRaSS e AMA National Arenacross Series: Round 2 Gaddis (69) said that he was using the event as a practice race for the Houston Supercross. Jimmy Gaddis collected a trophy after winning three of the four Pro-class main events. Gaddis ropes Cow Palace win By Bill Spencer Photos by Thomas E. Zarraonandia DALY em, CA, JAN. 8-9 ewly-signed Team Splitfue/ MatteI/Pro Circuit rider Jimmy Gaddis warmed up for the approaching Western Regional 12Scc Supercross Series by winning three of four Pro-class main events at the Rad 'N' Bad/Budweiser/Kawasaki-sponsored Cow Palace Arenacross. The only thing tha t kept the Las Vegas-based racer from scoring a sweep was a mistake in Sunday's 250cc Pro main. Gaddis cased his bike over a set of doubles near the end of the final lap, allowing 15year-old Robbie Reynard to slip by and score his only win of the weekend. "I just decided to come out here and get in some practice before the Houston Supercross," said Gaddis. "It was raining everywhere and .there was no place to ride, so I brought my practice bike and got in some good racing." The competition, which was organized by Mike Kidd Promotions, ran in conjunction with the Isuzu/Cycle World San Francisco International Motorcycle Show, and thousands of race fans turned out to wa tch the action. A purse of $4000 brought many top names, and Saturday's crowd approached the 11,000 mark. Friday Reynard jumped to the early lead in the 12Scc Pro class main event, which like all of the weekend's features, ran 20 laps. Gaddis gated poorly and start- N 22 ed a charge through the pack, working his way up to second place. Gaddis followed Team Green/Fox/Scott-sponsored Reynard, looking for a chance to slip by, and when Reynard bobbled in a corner midway through the race, Gaddis forced his way into the lead. Once in front, Gaddis started to pull away. Reynard did his best to retaliate, but couldn't match the pace set by Gaddis. Dennis Hawthorne, who was the top rider at round one of the series in Texas, finished third. Dublin Kawasaki/Team Green-sponsored Hawthorne had started off strongly, winning the first 2S0cc Pro heat race, but he cased his Kawasaki during that race and appeared to slow down slightly for the rest of the weekend. Gaddis had a much easier time of it in the 250cc main event. He improved his starting technique and grabbed the lead early on. Lancaster Cycles/ AXO/Seott/ Renthal-sponsored Jeromy Buehl secured the second spot, and Hawthorne trailed in third. Hawthorne moved up behind Buehl and challenged, but couldn't quite manage a pass. "I could make the charge up, but just didn't have enough to make the pass," said Hawthorne. "Buehl and I were dicing there for a while." While Gaddis continued on unchallenged, Buehl picked it up a notch just past the halfway point, and started to pull away from Hawthorne. Gaddis grabbed his second-straight win and Buehl and Hawthorne filled out the top three positions. Rick Ryan overcame injured ribs to win the $300 Dash for Cash, which took place after the qualifying races. Lindeman Enterprises/Mallots Yamaha/ Arai-sponsored Ryan, who grew up in the area and also competes in the MX GPs in Europe, left just after the fin.al main event to compete at the CMC Golden State round in Marysville the following day. After racing Saturday, Ryan drove back to San Francisco to compete in Saturday night's main events. Saturday In the 12Sec Pro main event, Gaddis continued where he had left off the night before, grabbing the early lead and staying there for the entire race. Reynard challenged Gaddis throughout the race, but was never quite able to grab the lead and had to settle for second. Hawthorne garnered third place, and a sleepy Ryan finished fourth. With just one main event remaining, Gaddis looked to be well on his way to a perfect weekend in the Pro division. He gr~bed the lead off the start in the 2S0cc Pro class, with Reynard taking up the number-two position. Gaddis maintained a comfortable lead on Reynard for most of the race, but with only five laps remaining, lapped tnlffic became a factor. "I was leading the whole way, but all of a sudden I came up on a couple lappers, and I just couldn't get by," said Gaddis. "The track wasn't real technical, so it wasn't that easy to pass, and they (the lappers) really screwed me up." Reynard quickly capitalized on Gaddis' problems, closing up on the leader's rear fender. The two circulated the track side by side in a great display of racing, and the large crowd was on its feet. Gaddis was able to keep a slight advantage up until the last half of the final lap, when the two riders came up on a set of doubles that was preceded by a roller jump. Gaddis jumped too far over the roller, losing the drive that he needed to clear the double. With Reynard right beside him, Gaddis knew that he needed to clear the double to keep his lead, so he gassed it in a desperate attempt to win. Gaddis cased it on the landing, and while he was able to stay upright, the slip-up was all Reynard needed to pull ahead to the win. Gaddis recovered for second place, and Buehl crossed the line a ways back in third position. "1 just went too far over that first jump, and my wheels were in two different ruts," said Gaddis. "It would've been nice to win everything, but Reynard was going really fast, and I'm pretty happy with how I did all weekend." Gaddis rounded out his weekend with a wiri in the dash for cash, which payed $700 to the overall winner. QI Results FRIDAY 125 PRO MAIN, 1. JImmy Gadd;, (!

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